Is it possible to get good gaps with stock sheetmetal?

[1967C20]

I've been reassembling my front clip for about the last week or so and trying to get the gaps looking nice. Some gaps and body lines look good and others are uneven no matter how I adjust them. Is it possible to get even gaps or am I going to have accept some compromises considering that tolerances for 1967 were not that great to begin with? Just wondering what everybody else has experienced with panel alignment.

[tim21391]

im having problems with the gap at the fender and rocker is that ur same spot to?

[snaus32]

my 67 has a gap problem on pass side fender

[rob32472]

Post some pic of the areas you are talking about. Sometimes the clip is out of sq and needs tweaked and shimed. Also making holes bigger is also an option it just depends

[turp mcspray]

A lot of guys just bolt the panels on live with what they have. It was good enough for GM and the general public who bought these when new. But if you want NICE gaps you will have to "slice and dice". I could never be happy with factory gaps and so I cut and weld as needed. Every vehicle is just a little bit different in how they were fit together when new. If you had a stack of fenders you could try them all and find that some fit better than others,etc. Not to pee in your cheerios but on top of 67 standards they were also JUST a truck in those days, and never meant to be as nice as a Caddillac.

[bigsnookmaster]

Originally Posted by turp mcspray

A lot of guys just bolt the panels on live with what they have. It was good enough for GM and the general public who bought these when new. But if you want NICE gaps you will have to "slice and dice". I could never be happy with factory gaps and so I cut and weld as needed. Every vehicle is just a little bit different in how they were fit together when new. If you had a stack of fenders you could try them all and find that some fit better than others,etc. Not to pee in your cheerios but on top of 67 standards they were also JUST a truck in those days, and never meant to be as nice as a Caddillac.

I second that!

[1956cameo]

Yep!! Slice and dice is the only way to get show quality fits. That's how the big boys make them look so good.

[1967C20]

Crashbob, that's exactly what I've been through. For the others, thanks for the suggestions. I've replaced all the rubber, the cab is square, I did a cross measurement on the engine bay, shimmed various places, and I've enlarged mounting holes. My only regret is that I didn't enlarge every mounting hole on every panel before remounting. I was just wondering if this is a typical problem.

[rob32472]

yes it is typical for these trucks to do some tweaking to get good gaps.

[CrashBob]

Originally Posted by 1967C20

Crashbob, that's exactly what I've been through. For the others, thanks for the suggestions. I've replaced all the rubber, the cab is square, I did a cross measurement on the engine bay, shimmed various places, and I've enlarged mounting holes. My only regret is that I didn't enlarge every mounting hole on every panel before remounting. I was just wondering if this is a typical problem.

Looking at your sig, I'd say our trucks are damned near identical. Mine had a TH400. When I say had, I replaced the whole drive line with a mild 305, 700R and locker 4:10 rear end. I am going to do the paint this weekend, as the weather is mid 70's and low humidity

[Shyguy]

The gaps on my '71 are real good, but the '67 is not.

I am going to replace all the mounting rubber supports on the '67 and then see how things fit.

The '67 started life as a 3/4 ton and I put all the body parts on a 1/2 ton frame using the old 3/4 ton rubber supports which caused the gap problem.

Danny

[hugger6933]

Good gaps are possible but you may have to use a die grinder and a welder to get what you need. I know that is not what you wanted to hear, but it is what it is. Check your hood hinges for pin slop also make sure you are square by taking an 'x' measurement across the front. Also measure from the cab to rocker on each side to see that the cab is setting square on the frame. If one of those is off you will have trouble. Jim

[CrashBob]

Originally Posted by 1967C20

I've been reassembling my front clip for about the last week or so and trying to get the gaps looking nice. Some gaps and body lines look good and others are uneven no matter how I adjust them. Is it possible to get even gaps or am I going to have accept some compromises considering that tolerances for 1967 were not that great to begin with? Just wondering what everybody else has experienced with panel alignment.

Wow, I was going to post exactly the same question.

Before I took my '67 apart, I never paid any attention to the sheet metal alignment. Now, after putting the clip back on, I spent 6 solid hours adjusting, squaring and cussing to get semi reasonable gaps. I agree with those who say "slice and dice" is the only way to get it right but mine still is a truck and I plan to use it as such.

CrashBob

[Tim Christian]

1967 and 1968 Chevy/GMC Truck body lines are not as good as 69-72 models espically on the front clips. I have all factory metal on the front of my 67 and my sons is all aftermarket on his 67 and they are not two dollars worth of diffrence! We have all Tri -Plus on my other sons 72 Every part but the cowl and everybody ask were we got all the orginal sheetmetal for the truck! We actually took a prefectly good front clip off this truck and sold it to show custmers how aftermarket fit. It also has a lot to do with the body guy.

[hounddogs!]

From the factory, mine weren't great. I put a new clip on several years ago and the gaps are even to my eye. I'll probably scr3w all that up with new cab mounts, but for now we're good. It just took a bunch of cussing and fussing. I came back to it several times over a couple of days as I recall.